Non Woven Fabric: What Is It & How To Made?
With the development of the material industry, the non-woven fabrics are introduced and be used widely in different industries. In the medical profession, the non woven raw material can create shoe covers, disposable face mask and medical packaging.
In the carpeting industry, they are used for for carpet backing. Today, the non woven fabric manufacturer would introduce non woven fabrics in details, to let you have a further understanding of the non woven fabric material.
What is Non woven Fabric?
The non woven fabric is a fabric-like material made from staple fiber (short) and long fibers (continuous long), bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat, or solvent treatment. In the non-woven fabric market, this noun is used to indicate some types of fabrics, such as felt, which are neither woven nor knitted.
Non Woven Polypropylene Fabric
During the manufacturing process, it doesn’t involve the spinning or weaving as they are made directly from separate fibers, molten or dissolved fiber-forming substances like plastic. With its high strength, pp non woven fabric has instead of polyurethane foam in the fabric market.
What Does Non Woven Fabric Look Like?
Due to the different manufacturing processes, the non woven fabrics are different. When you stretch them with your hands, you may feel they are hard or soft. They also could be as thin as tissue paper, or many times thicker. But, generally speaking, their appearance may be paper-like, felt-like, or similar to that of woven fabrics.
How is Non Woven Fabric Made
Because of the different manufacturing methods, there are different types and looks of non woven fabric. In the this section, I will introduce how some main types of non woven fabric are made.
Spun Laid Non Woven or Spunbond Nonwovens
The spun laid non woven, also known as spunbond non woven fabric. The fiber or polymer slices are spun by spinnerets into endless filaments. Then the filaments would be cooled and stretched by the air and lay on the moving sieve belt as a random web. After that, the delivery belt transit the random web to the bonding zone to bond them through a thermal, mechanical, or chemical process. On the market, the spunbond nonwoven fabric is used for making the medical supply.
This picture shows the manufacturer how to use the equipment to producing non woven fabric.
Stitch Bond Non Woven
The stitch bond non woven is made on a weaving machine. Fixed on the weaving machine, the web is getting bonded with chain-stitch seams. Thanks to this processing technique, this type of non-woven fabric get a flattered and softer texture. With the special manufacturing method, the fabric would get clear stitching patterns on one side or both sides.
Thermal Bond Non Woven
The thermal bond non woven is made of thermoplastic fibers or thermostatic powders like polyester, polypropylene, nylon, etc. Four kinds of thermal bonding are available in the non-woven fabric market. The air bonding uses the heated air to make effort to the web surface which is on the delivery belt. The impingement bonding is to place the well in an oven and let the hot impinges to the web surface from nozzles. The calendar bonding is to make the web surface bond be passed between heated rollers and ultrasonic bonding.
Solvent Bond Non Woven
It is made of acrylic fibers and polyester fibers are treated with a controlled amount of solvent. The liquid could soften the fiber surfaces and thus causes bonding.
Chemical Bon Non Woven
The chemical bond non-woven is made the use of the binder(resin or latex) to apply to the surface of the web. Four types of chemical bonding are available: Print bonding, spray bonding, saturation, and foam bonding. The print bonding is completed by the roll printing and screen printing. As for the spray bonding, the web placed on a conveyor belt accepts latex spraying.
Wet-Laid Non Woven
Wet-laid non wovens are made by wet laying, a mechanical process. It is similar to a paper-making technique with different raw materials. The slurry-shaped fiber would be transported to a mesh forming mechanism to lay in a wet state to form a cloth. Then it is typically followed by adhesive bonding. Felt and felted fabrics are made this way.
What Are Non Woven Fabrics Used for?
There are a number of non woven fabrics in the world. Therefore, non-woven materials are used in numerous applications. In this section, the two common applications are listed.
Medical
The non woven polypropylene fabric is the most commonly used raw material in the medical, from surgical gown material to the material of non-woven medical shoe covers. Here are the medical products made of non woven fabric.
●isolation gowns
●surgical gowns
●surgical drapes and covers
●surgical masks: printed disposable surgical mask, face mask n95, etc
●surgical scrub suits
●caps
●medical packaging: porosity allows gas sterilization
●gloves
●shoe covers
●bath wipes
●wound dressings
●drug delivery
●Plasters
Filter
With its high air permeability and great density, the non woven fabric material is an ideal option to be applied to the filter. The following products are made of non woven fabric material.
●gasoline, oil and air – including HEPA filtration
●water, coffee, tea bags
●pharmaceutical industry
●mineral processing
●liquid cartridge and bag filters
●vacuum bags
●allergen membranes or laminates with non woven layers
Conclusion
All in all, the non woven fabric is one of the most vital materials in today's economic life. One thing you need to notice is that you should get the best quality nonwoven fabric from the reliable pp non woven fabric manufacturer to ensure the function and quality of the products.
